From 17 June 2019 to 19 June 2019

Data assimilation

Abstract

Data assimilation is an important component of modelling in a number of applications in the geosciences and in engineering. This training course will provide an overview of the theory and practice of data assimilation. First, the basic concepts from statistical estimation theory and nonlinear optimization will be given. The classical variational and Kalman filtering approaches to data assimilation will then be described. The lectures will also touch upon more specialized topics including covariance modelling and estimation, advanced minimization algorithms, preconditioning, and hybrid ensemble-variational methods. The lectures on the theory will be complemented by both practical exercises and presentations on specific applications at CERFACS in the geosciences (oceanography, atmospheric chemistry, and/or hydrology/hydraulics).

Objective of the training

The objectives are to learn the key aspects of data assimilation, to understand the theory behind the methodologies, and to make the link with state estimation in the geosciences through specific applications.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this training you will be able to:

give a grounded opinion about advanced methods in data assimilation: variational assimilation, the Kalman filter, and their ensemble variants;

appreciate the importance of and critical issues in data assimilation for real-world applications.

Target participants

This training session is for engineers, physicists, computer scientists and numerical analysts wishing to learn the fundamentals of data assimilation and the numerical methods to develop data assimilation applications.

Prerequisites

In order to follow this course, you need to:

know basics methods in numerical linear algebra,

have a background in statistics and probability theory.

To verify that the prerequisites are satisfied, the following questionnaires must be completed. You need to get at least 75% of correct answers in order to be authorized to follow this training session. If you don’t succeed it, your subscription will not be validated. You only have two chances to complete them.

Final examination

NEWS

OASIS3-MCT is a coupler of codes developed at Cerfacs and used around the world, mainly for climate modelling applications. Our last survey confirms that OASIS3-MCT is used by 67 modelling groups to assemble more than 80 different coupled applications over the 5 continents. These applications include global or regional configurations of ocean and atmosphere models but also sea ice, sea level, wave, ocean biogeochemistry, land, vegetation, river routing, hydrological and atmospheric chemistry models. OASIS3-MCT is used in 5 of the 7 European Earth System Models participating to the 6th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) that produces the climate simulations forming the basis of the next report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)”Read more

The annual Sparse Days meeting will be held at CERFACS in Toulouse on 11th and 12th July 2019.
Registration for the Sparse Days is free but we ask people who are coming to register as soon as possible although the deadline is June 14th. Please complete the registration form (deadline : June 14th) indicating whether you want to give a talk and whether you wish to attend the conference dinner.
Although an emphasis will be on parallel aspects, any talk that has an association with sparsity is welcome.Read more